Home Distiller

So, I was getting set up to make an all grain bourbon mash earlier this week. I washed and drained about 20 lbs of cracked corn and then ran it through my Victoria hand mill for a little bit better grind on Monday and then stored the corn a 5 gallon lidded bucket. My little shop/brew house is always a little on the warm side (mid to high 70’s in the summer) so I wanted to try out some Fermentis USW-6 for this one (optimum fermentation temp of 68F to 89F, anyone tried this one recently?) and had placed an on-line order that was supposed to arrive mid-week but was then delayed (now due to arrive next Monday).

So, long story short, it occurred to me when falling asleep last night that warm moist corn in a closed bucket had likely encouraged some unwanted flora. I popped the lid this morning and, sure enough, the top surface of the corn was covered with a light covering of white fuzzy mold.

The smell is slightly sweet and a bit sour. Anyone with any experience with this? Should I toss the corn out and regrind another 20 lbs or boil away when my yeast shows up in a few days?

Thanks

I can't say whether to toss it out or use it. My first thought would be to start over.
Having said that some of the best bourbon begins with sour corn.

Thanks Shady. I considered the same coin toss and decided to contribute this batch to the feed the squirrels fund. Corn is cheap, the wasted time for a failed mash, not so much.

Save some of the spent mash for the squirrels also, there few things in life funnier than drunken squirrels.